Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production by Boron Modified TiO2/Carbon Nitride Heterojunctions

Boron-doped anatase TiO2 particles were effectively coupled with carbon nitride (CN) forming nanocomposites. The materials were fully characterized by DR-UV-Vis, N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, XRD, Raman, FTIR, TGA, XPS, TEM, electron energy loss spectroscopy, photoluminescence, and electron paramagnetic spectroscopy (EPR) spectroscopy. The developed heterojunctions were applied as photocatalysts for hydrogen (H-2) evolution by the photoreforming process of ethanol under solar irradiation, using minimal amount of Pt nanoparticles (0.1 wt. %) as co-catalyst. The effects of boron addition and CN content were evaluated and optimized nanocomposite presented 85 % increase in H-2 evolution compared with the pure anatase TiO2 catalyst. The observed higher H-2 evolution rates were ascribed to improvements in charge formation and separation efficiency due to the B-dopant and the presence of CN.